This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Closer to home, the Great Canadian Butter Tart Bake-Off runs June 28 at the Harbourfront Centre as six pastry chefs go “tart to tart” from 3 to 5:30 p.m. as part of the five-day Canada Day Extravaganza.

One of those chefs is Kyla Eaglesham of Madeleines bakery. Her sweet weapon will be the Kawartha Lakes Maple Butter Tarts that evoke the tastes and smells of her childhood on Pigeon Lake near Bobcaygeon.

The amber maple syrup must come from Eaglesham’s former neighbours at Kennedy Farms in Omemee.

The fat must be lard that she renders herself.

The water must be ice cold. So must her hands since she mixes the dough herself.

And the filling must be beaten until it’s very smooth.

“To me a good butter tart is velvety and sweet with a slightly smoky flavour from good maple syrup. I don’t like them sickly sweet, but I like to have layers of flavour,” explains Eaglesham.

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Canada in Toronto,” says Eaglesham, who closed her Bathurst St. bakery last year and moved to the Stockyards area of the Junction to do wholesale and direct orders.

As an aside, Eaglesham uses nonhydrogenated, GMO-free vegetable shortening at the bakery, but swears by lard at home.

The only problem with maple butter tarts, she confesses, is the price of maple syrup. But now that she has picked up her stockpile from Kennedy Farms, she will make them as a special order.

“It’s about as Canadian as you can get to make a maple butter tart,” Eaglesham declares.

“Especially if you make a joke about cutting out the dough so the circles are bigger than a hockey puck.”

Kawartha Lakes Maple Butter Tarts

Kyla Eaglesham, owner of Madeleines bakery in the Junction, shared this “taste of home.” She will offer them as a special order at her shop, which does wholesale and advance orders only.

For pastry, in large bowl, combine flour and salt. Using pastry cutter, fork or cold hands, cut in lard or shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces (like crumbled popcorn). Make well in centre.

In small bowl, combine water and vinegar. Add 2 tbsp (30 mL) to flour. Knead until pastry holds together, being careful not to over mix and using some or all of remaining water mixture as needed. Form into loose hockey puck that’s soft with a marbled texture. Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 3 days. Let pastry come to room temperature 30 minutes before rolling.

Follow @thesaucylady on Twitter. Jennifer Bain's book, The Toronto Star Cookbook: More Than 150 Diverse & Delicious Recipes Celebrating Ontario, is sold at starstore.ca and in bookstores.

Delivered dailyThe Morning Headlines Newsletter

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com